Republicans can do what others may not

Okay, I'm being lazy -- posting this instead of doing some actual writing. But Maher makes a good point during his main rant here.

I've had some moments of guilt about having been a hold-out Edwards supporter until the bitter -- very bitter -- end. But why? There's a fairly good chance that Newt will get the Republican nod -- and even if he doesn't, he still gets to show his face in public. Edwards can't. Yet in terms of public policy endorsements (and those are the terms that count), Edwards is by far the better man.

On a related note: I haven't given much thought to the Republican horserace, but there is one name that perhaps deserves greater consideration: Steve Forbes.

Okay, what I'm about to say will sound mega-weird. Bear with me. The standards around here are looser on weekends. I'll allow myself to talk about really goofy stuff that would be verboten on a weekday.

Until recently, Forbes had never really been on my radar. In the past, he has focused on his flat tax proposal, which is one of those things that sounds good to the yokels until someone finally explains what it really means. Besides, the guy is nobody's idea of a compelling speaker.

So I simply put Forbes out of my mind.

But then, about a month ago, I had a horrifying and unusually vivid dream in which I was watching live news footage of Forbes after he had won a primary which may have clinched the nomination. Then there was a very violent attack. Let's skip past the gory details -- suffice it to say that I woke up gasping and sweating, exactly they way people wake up from nightmares in the movies.

Well, that was just a bad dream. But it prompted some morning-after research. And you know what...?

Looks to me like Forbes is positioning himself for a possible run. He has reached out to the teabaggers; he has positioned himself as a social conservative; he has moderated the "flat tax" talk.

You think it could happen? By "it" I mean a Forbes presidential run, not the nightmare I had. God, let's hope nothing like that ever occurs.